In a week of huge upheaval in the world of college football, Alabama has been replaced by Texas as the No 1 team in the country.
A shocking loss to Vanderbilt – despite going into the game as three-touchdown favorites – saw the Crimson Tide drop from No. 1 to No. 7.
The last top-ranked team to fall so far was Ohio State, who plunged to No. 11 in 2010 following an October loss to Wisconsin.
Texas received 52 out of 61 first-place AP votes and became the first team in two years to bounce in and out of the top spot in a span of three polls. The Longhorns also were just the third team since 2008 to be voted No. 1 after not playing the day before.
Ohio State beat Iowa for its fourth straight easy win, received nine first-place votes and moved up a spot to No. 2.
Vanderbilt celebrates a huge victory over Alabama despite being a huge underdog
Oregon and Penn State each rose three spots, with the Ducks up to No. 3 and the Nittany Lions fourth. Georgia remained No. 5.
Miami, which came back from a 25-point second-half deficit to beat California 39-38, rose two spots to No. 6.
The mayhem wasn’t limited to Alabama, though. Six of the 18 AP Top 25 teams that played lost to unranked opponents (33%), the highest mark since six of 16 (38%) lost the first week of October 2020.
The Tide were among four teams in the top 11 to lose to unranked opponents – the first time that’s happened since October 2017.
Tennessee lost to Arkansas and went from No. 4 to No. 8. Michigan lost at Washington and went from No. 10 to No. 24. Southern California lost at Minnesota and went from No. 11 to out of the Top 25. The Trojans were first among teams also receiving votes.
Texas didn’t even play – but still moved up to No. 1 in the college football rankings
Texas A&M soundly beat Missouri at home in the only Top 25 matchup. That earned the Aggies a promotion from a tie for No. 25 to No. 15 and the Tigers a demotion from No. 9 to No. 21.
The Big Ten dominates the top five, but the Southeastern Conference maintains its grip on the top 10. No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oregon and No. 4 Penn State are bookended by the SEC’s Texas and Georgia. The SEC also has Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi in the top 10.
Double-digit drops by Missouri, Michigan and USC mark the first time since Nov. 13, 2016, that three teams fell 10 or more spots in the same poll. That week it happened to Auburn (8 to 18), Texas A&M (10 to 23) and North Carolina (15 to receiving votes).
The biggest upward movers were Texas A&M (25 to 15), Clemson (15 to 10) and Iowa State (16 to 11).
